Not so much the length of the article, as the short age of Soviet arcade machines makes this history brief.
Let’s start from the very beginning. Arcade games trace their roots back to arcade machines usually installed
in “arcades” shopping malls.

Indian Lake (Ford Russell's Point) Ohio, July 1941 (1)

The first mechanical arcade machines appeared in the USA in the 1870s (2).
They quickly became very popular.

A double slot machine by the Caille Bros. Co. of Chicago 1905 (3)

Pac-Gentleman arcade machine, early 1900's (4)

Le Mans 24 Heures arcade game 1950 (5)

By the 40s-50s of the 20th century, these machines spread all over the world.

A Library of Congress picture, year and location unknown (probably 1940s as the pinball is a non-flipper model) (1)

The history of arcade machines in the Soviet Union began at the turn of 70s,
when officials of the Ministry of Culture realized they could make big money on them (2).
In 1971, the International Exhibition of Amusement and Arcade Machines was organized in Moscow (6).
Far the most famous manufactures of game machines from the USA, Japan,
and other countries took part in it. Their developments were not the newest and
the most popular ones. However, it was a real breakthrough for unspoiled Soviet
people: arcade machines with real cowboys, ducks, and coloured lights! During one
month and a half, this exhibition enjoyed the daily audience of around 20,000 people.
They had to wait in long lines to get 20-kopek coins (7).

International Exposition of Attractions and Arcade Machines, Moskow, 1971.
From news reportage (8)

When the exhibition was over, Japanese manufacturers agreed to sell their
illiquid machines to the Soviet party. They were sent to secret defence industry enterprises
to be taken to pieces and used as basis for “domestic” arcade machines – the first generation
of Soviet computer games.

Those machines were said to be useful, to improve reaction and straight eye.
In short, they were approved by doctors and the communist party.

In fact, those arcades were 95% copies of the purchased Japanese machines.
From 1975 to 1991, 22 closed munitions factories were engaged in their manufacturing,
as only the army had access to electronic technologies and free capacities necessary
for this kind of civilian production. However, 80 different arcade machines manufactured
in the Soviet Union also included several proprietary designs (9).

The production was supervised by “Soyuzattractsion”. Several design-engineering offices
functioning under this organization were in charge of inventing new machines. Despite this,
the majority of arcade machines manufactured in the USSR were copies of American and
Japanese analogs.

The Soviet science used obsolete plagiarism, despite their intellectual and technical potential,
for political reasons.

Let me wander here from the subject of arcade machines and briefly draw a parallel with the history
of computer equipment development in the USSR. Surely, this topic deserves a separate article,
but I will present just several facts.

Despite the common opinion that Soviet computers (or “electronic data processing machines”
as they were called those days) could never keep pace with their American analogs, it did not
fully reflect the reality. Thus, for example, MESM (small electronic counting machine),
created by Sergey Lebedev in 1950, was an electronic data processing machine based on binary
logic, which is used in computers nowadays (ENIAC, its American analog, used decimal system).

Sergey Lebedev (10)

Small Electronic Counting Machine (11)

Then, BESM-1 (big electronic counting machine) manufactured afterwards had the highest performance
in Europe and was one of the highest-power computers in the world (10), (12), (13).
Mir-1, the electronic data processing machine created by the Ukrainian engineer Viktor Glushkov in 1959,
was bought by IBM company at the 1967 London exhibition (14).

Victor Glushkov (15)

Electronic Counting Machine Mir-1 (16)

However, despite the progress, during the cold war Kremlin officials feared a lot not to keep pace
with the West in everything related to computer developments and preferred to resort to industrial
espionage instead of developing local science.

I would dare to presume that plagiarism of the idea of arcade machines was caused by the habit of
stealing Western developments common to Soviet officials. They thought it easier and safer to copy
others’ ideas than to develop their own. Design of the majority of arcade machines was rather primitive.
Its development was a simple engineering task.

Despite plagiarism, there were certain technical and ideological differences between Soviet and
Western machines.

Enormous weight of Soviet machines was their main difference. It was related to planned economy.
The bigger the total mass of items manufactured by the plant, the more money it would obtain the
following year. That is why certain machines had many metal parts, although they could be made
of plastic, thus, making the item weigh 20 times less (17). The cost of Soviet game machines was
comparable to that of a car (the price for “Zhiguli” was 6,000 RUB those days (18). However, a machine
would pay off within one season, although the cost of a three-minute game was only 15
Soviet kopeks.

Besides technical, there were also certain ideological differences between Soviet machines and
“imperialist” models.

Game subjects were another difference. They were real unlike fantastic, futuristic subjects
of Japanese and American analogs.

There were no lists of high scores in Soviet arcade machines, and one could not win money there,
just a bonus game or little things, such as chewing gums. Soviet arcade machines were not
considered dependence producing, and one could play a game for only 15 kopeks (19).

There are very few Soviet machines left today. One can try them in the museum of arcade machines
created by two Moscow students, Maxim Pinigin and Alexander Stahanov 4 years ago in the hostel
of the Moscow State Technical Institute.

The aim was to fish out a prize (soft toys, chewing gums, chocolate) from the machine with
the help of a mechanical arm.

Arcade Machine “Zond” (20)

Basketball

A game for two players. Within the allotted time, each player was to hit the rival’s basket,
getting a higher score. Both players controlled each spring hole. For a score of “30-30” or
more the players would get a bonus game.

The most famous and, apparently, the first arcade machine. It has been produced since 1973.
The machine simulated torpedo attacks by a submarine. The player was looking through the
periscope at enemy ships moving on the horizon, trying to shoot them down.

Arcade Machine “Morskoi Boi” (24)

Arcade Machine “Morskoi Boi” (20)

Arcade Machine “Morskoi Boi”, game (19)

Vozdushniy Boi

There were three enemy planes moving on the screen. The player had 2 minutes to shoot
them down using a joystick. Those enemy planes resembled American “Phantoms”.
Thus, it was not only fun for Soviet citizens, but also a means to get prepared
for meeting the potential enemy.

Simulation of a Russian game similar in concept to bowling. The aim is to knock out groups
of skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat at them.

The real game “Gorodki” (21)

Figures of the game (22)

Game “Gorodki” (23)

Arcade Machine “Gorodki” (19)

Magistral

Simulation of a Russian game similar in concept to bowling. The aim is to knock out groups
of skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat at them.

While moving along an endless route, the player was to overtake randomly appearing cars,
avoiding potential collisions. There was a game version for 2-4 players as well.

Arcade Machine “Magistral” (24)

Skachki

A game maximum for 6 players. In a single game, the player was to compete with the computer.
However, it was more interesting to play with other people. Funny, but it was a black-and-white game.
Tracks differed in color due to color strips stuck on the screen.

Arcade Game “Skachki” (25)

This game was an exact copy of Steeplechase’ Atari.

Steeplechase’ “Atari” (26)

Konyok-Gorbunok

The game called “Russian Zelda” on the West (it is hard to tell whether it was
a compliment to engineers or a reproach for secondariness) was the first fully-featured arcade game.
It had 16 levels. In order to pass through them the player was to overcome obstacles and fight enemies.
Initially, the player would have 3 lives. The game would be over with no lives left or after 5 minutes
of playing.

Soviet arcade machines enjoyed their greatest popularity in the 70s-80s of the last century.
During “perestroika” (restructuring) they were driven out by more eye-popping Western models,
“one-armed bandits”, computer rooms, home gaming machines and playstations. Almost all old
machines were taken to storage facilities, destroyed or put on the scrapheap.

The generation that grew up on these machines looks back into those times with pleasure while
playing games in the Museum of Arcade Machines or on-line.

For a similar reason, the topic of Soviet arcade machines cannot be part of
“History of Computer Graphics”, at least of its short course. Soviet arcade machines were nothing
but a short-life clone in the group of such machines. They didn’t have outstanding peculiarities
or inventions. However, they marked a momentous historical event for one generation of former USSR
citizens.

(Eng.) Museum of Sergey Lebedev-creator the first stored program computer in continental Europe
Development of Computer Science and Technologies in Ukraine. Brief History
Sergey Lebedev. Life and scientific work. Pictures. Supplements. Bibliography.http://www.icfcst.kiev.ua/museum/LEBEDEV/L_photos.html
Consulted 13 February 2011.

(Eng.) Photo of Electronic Counting Machine by Victor Glushkov - Founder of Information Technologies in Ukraine and former USSR.
Museum. Development of Computer Science and Technologies in Ukraine. Brief History.http://www.icfcst.kiev.ua/museum/Gl_HALL2/photos.html
Consulted 14 February 2011.